Only Broken
by Blue-Kool-Aid
Summary: Before Draco could even open his mouth, Bellatrix said, “Crucio!” and he was flat on the floor, screaming and writhing in agony. Draco x Hermione, one-shot. Sequel to Only Human.


_Introduction_: This is the sequel to my previous fiction, _Only Human. _Thank you to all those who reviewed: **Love IT!!**, **m.z'd.e.e**, **lil pink** **pixie**, **bcsbookworm**, **hottennispro88**, **naufdude**, & **Izzie-xxo**! If you are new, and have stumbled upon this fiction, please go and read _Only Human _first: ) This one will make much more sense afterwards. There are mentions of events from the previous fic, but I suppose you could still read this one without having too much trouble. : ) Thanks!

_Warnings_: Strong language at some points, and some disturbing scenes. Also, this sequel focuses more on Draco's struggles, and less on the developing relationship between him and Hermione. The third and final fic, however, will focus on the relationship heavily.

_Disclaimer_: I do not own _Harry Potter_ and I never will. :D

Happy reading: )

Only Broken

He had failed miserably; the burning sensation in his arm was raw proof of this. He'd betrayed their trust and had let them down. He was a coward, nothing more than a bloody follower, begging for acceptance, only to be led on and used at the will of the Dark Lord.

He was dirty, disgusting and deserved what ever punishment that would be laid out for him once he returned to the castle, once they discovered that he had betrayed them all – and _her_, oh Merlin, _her_.

Leaning against the cool bark of the tree, he felt his head spin as hate and anger coursed through his blood stream. He was so filthy.

Letting out a shaky breath, Draco Malfoy pulled up the sleeve of his robe, revealing the ever-pulsing Dark Mark, which danced the Devil's waltz on his left forearm. Because Voldemort's presence was becoming more pronounced, the Mark was as clear as day. Gooseflesh rose on his skin as the chill of the cold May night bit at him.

Blonde hair stuck to his forehead as he struggled against the power surging through him. Exhaustion gave way as he let himself drift into a hazy daydream of two weeks prior.

He was sitting at the very same tree, waiting for her to show up. Sure that he looked a disheveled mess, he attempted to correct his appearance by slicking his hair slightly back. Thoughts of the night before refused to leave his head.

Last night she said that she wouldn't let anything happen to him… and then there was the kiss. Had Hermione Granger really kissed him and had he really kissed her back? Everything was fuzzy.

All of his pride had been tossed to the wind, and his loathing had dissipated briefly because she had showed him kindness. But oh, the weakness that had consumed him – that was consuming him – would make his father very disappointed and ashamed.

_"Good evening," he said, nodding, his voice quiet and refined._

_Ron and Harry muttered their greetings in reply._

_Hermione took a step forward in the fading light and asked shyly, "How are you today?" She noticed that he had already repaired his cold mask, even though he had been in hysterics the evening before._

_"I'm fine," Draco replied coolly, but the slight shake to his voice indicated that he wasn't._

_Harry cleared his throat. "Well, let's get on with it then." His intelligent emerald eyes pierced through Draco's steely grey ones. "Hermione told us what happened and well, I'm sorry that you've had to shoulder so much."_

_Ron cut in, his tone sarcastic. "Oh, and we don't, Harry? Bloody hell! This is ridiculous, this fraternizing with the enemy rubbish!"_

_"Ron!" Hermione snapped._

_Harry looked at them both, sensing that there would just be several arguments and nothing would be accomplished. "Both of you, I suggest you go for a walk. I need to talk to Malfoy alone, all right? Come back in twenty."_

_Ron opened his mouth to protest, eyes on fire, but Hermione was already dragging him away._

_The silence that ensued between Draco and Harry was awkward, until Harry said, "Let's sit, shall we?"_

_The both sat on the cold, hard ground. Harry waited a moment before speaking again._

_"I know, Malfoy, that this is the first civilized conversation that you and I will have had during our seven years together at this school. But I need you to listen, and listen well." Harry's voice was not hard and threatening, but soft and firm._

_Draco nodded, feeling like a little kid about to be lectured._

_"Hermione told us about what happened last night. Well, she told us the important things… she refused to go into too much detail, wanting to respect confidentiality, I guess. But the point is that you're trying to avoid the Dark Mark and being forced into Lord Voldemort's grasp. I respect that. However, Malfoy, as real as this story sounds, I don't fully trust you. Actually, I don't think that I trust you a whole lot." Harry's eyes hardened, and his gaze seemed to pierce Draco's._

_"In the past, you've been nothing but a trouble-causing prat, and I don't see why this situation is any different. For all I know, you could just be trying to lead us straight to Voldemort, and the sob-story that you threw out last night could indeed be a very good piece of theatre on your part."_

_Draco tried to say something, but Harry was not finished._

_"Furthermore, Malfoy, I especially do not want you playing on the kindness of Hermione's heart and then back stabbing her." His emerald eyes were sharp and alert._

_"Potter, I understand why you don't trust me. B-But… I have no one." Draco let his head fall into his hands, trying to hold back tears, as memories of the previous night flooded him._

_Harry tried not to let the shock of Draco's vulnerability sway him. The depth of emotion that he could feel coming from the blonde was disturbing. He seemed truly despaired._

_"I know they say that everyone deserves a second chance, but you've done so many terrible things, Malfoy, especially to us. Hermione's convinced that you want out of this mess, but… I don't know…" Harry trailed off._

_"I understand," Draco said coldly, even though he felt like he was going to be sick. His head whirred with trying to keep his cool, but his body betrayed him, trembling. If not even the Golden Trio would help him, who did he have left? No one! No one but his family, and that was choosing the path to darkness, the one that he was desperately trying to avoid._

_Harry felt a certain sadness envelop him as he regarded Draco. He had felt like that in the past. Standing up, he thought a moment. Was it worth the risk to help him?_

_Swallowing hard, Harry extended his hand to Draco._

_Draco looked up, confused, but took the hand._

_Gripping him firmly, Harry pulled Draco to his feet. He studied him a moment, and then said, "All right, Malfoy. We will try to help you to stay out of danger. It's unfortunate that I have to believe your family would kill you if you turned them down. But I hope you know that we will be keeping an eye on you,and I hope you know who's side your really on, here."_

_For the second time, Draco found himself thanking the enemy. So, now he had some back up. And as much as he hated to admit it, Harry Potter was a powerful back up._

_Harry spotted Ron and Hermione in the distance and he quickly addressed the thing that had been disturbing him since Hermione mentioned it. "I know you've been cutting yourself, and well… no offense, mate, but you're no good to anyone when you're dead."_

_Draco's expression turned stone cold. "You couldn't possibly understand, Potter."_

_Harry leaned in real close, challenging Draco's remark. "Oh, I think I could. And until you know me a bit better, I wouldn't be making any unjustified judgements."_

_Ron and Hermione had returned by this point. Ron looked at Harry, who nodded, and the two started off, leaving Draco and Hermione alone._

_A gentle breeze drifted through the night air and ruffled Hermione's robes. "Well, then," she began, "I guess… I'll see you around."_

_"I guess so," Draco replied._

_"Please… be careful." Then she was gone, and Draco was left to ponder the extent of human kindness._

"Damnit!" Draco screamed into the night. "I didn't want this! I… I didn't!"

He began to shake, fumbling to grab the tiny silver knife that he kept in his robe pocket. Once he had it, he yanked up his sleeve furiously, and began to cut around the Dark Mark, oblivious to the pain that screamed within him from head to toe, and the bright blood that was pooling and spilling quickly all over his arm.

At this point, he could really care less if he bled to death. He wanted it gone!

The knife dropped from his hand and he shook, clearly having just sent himself into shock. He receded into his memory of that day one week ago…

_The other students on the steps got up and hurried away, upon noticing Lucius Malfoy._

_"Draco, you are being pulled out of school for a few days due to a family emergency. I have already informed your teachers and the headmistress. Come now. There is much to be done." The way that Lucius' eyes sparkled told Draco that there was no family emergency._

_Terrified, however, Draco obeyed his father, hoping that it wasn't what he thought it was._

_Upon their arrival at the Malfoy Manor, Draco noticed that both his mother and aunt Bellatrix were in the sitting room, looking anxious._

_"What's going on?" Draco demanded, "Why's everyone –''_

_"You're getting the Mark tomorrow!" Bellatrix exclaimed gleefully in her singsong voice. "Finally, you'll be one of us!"_

_Draco tried not to gasp, his heart pounding. "But father, what about school?"_

_"It will be fine, Draco," Lucius drawled._

_"I-''_

_"Enough. It will be done and you will feel the power of the Dark Lord's ascension pulsing through your very being, when the moment comes!" His eyes glinted._

_Draco's mind swirled as his meeting with Harry surfaced, and the night when Hermione had held him and promised him that nothing would happen and how he had promised that he wouldn't give in and now… it was all happening so quickly. Out of his own control._

_"Draco?" Narcissa cooed softly. "Are you okay?"_

_"I'm… I'm not ready for it!" Draco blurted. "Besides, I thought only long time followers received the Dark Mark! I haven't been around for very long, and…" He trailed off, somewhat stunned._

_"It doesn't hurt, boy! At least not much!" Bellatrix cackled. "Besides, you wouldn't ever betray us – and more importantly, the Dark Lord – now would you?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously and she looked truly psychotic._

_"Has someone been poisoning your mind, boy? Do I need to teach you a lesson to show you what is right and what is wrong? Perhaps a hands on demonstration in the Unforgivables will have you change your mind about how 'ready' you are!" Lucius declared angrily. "You're a Malfoy, and you will uphold Pureblood honor and service to the Dark Lord!"_

_"Lucius…" Narcissa began worriedly, but was cut off._

_"Say nothing, Narcissa. I think that we should leave Draco to reason with Bellatrix." He grabbed her and dragged her out of the room._

_Draco had never felt so terrified, a feeling that come from merely looking into Bellatrix's crazed, angry eyes. His parents had just left him at her mercy without even hearing his case. They truly were obsessed with the Dark Lord._

_"Draco, oh, Draco! You've made a grave mistake in even daring to contradict the wishes of the Dark Lord," Bellatrix said, tutting and shaking her head._

_Before Draco could even open his mouth, Bellatrix said, "**Crucio**!" and he was flat on the floor, screaming and writhing in agony._

_He tried to plead his case with her, sweat dripping down his forehead._

_"Shut up!" she screamed. "You are nothing but scum in comparison to the Dark Lord! Lower than scum! And you should be grateful, you sick little boy, that he wants your services! **Crucio**, **crucio**, **crucio**!"_

_He couldn't breathe. He had screamed his voice raw and had been reduced to mere whimpers as his body struggled to fight overwhelming, consuming pain._

_Bellatrix kicked him in the side. "You will also learn to use these curses without remorse, like I have so gracefully mastered. I always told Cissy that she had she had raised you too softly… **crucio**!"_

_Draco felt salt hit his lips and he realized that he was probably sobbing but was in so much agony, that he couldn't even tell._

_Bellatrix used the curse on him until he was unconscious, and the next morning, when he was taken to become one of them, he was truly grateful to be receiving the Dark Mark, because the process was far less painful than his experience with Bellatrix. Though he was terrified when the Dark Lord spoke to him and touched him, and made him disgusting, it was better than what would happen if he refused it._

_Later, when he was left alone with his newest acquaintance, he felt the guilt of betrayal consumed him and he cried himself to sleep._

Draco stood up in a daze, clasping his bloody arm. He snuck back into the castle (having left there before dinner, when his father dropped him off) and made his way down the deserted hallways.

He ran into someone, though, and was startled. His heart pumped faster, blood pouring more quickly out of his arm.

"_Lumos_!" said the stranger, then, "Malfoy!"

"Potter," Draco rasped.

"Where have you been for the last – bloody hell! You're bleeding!" Harry made a grab for Draco's arm, and he pulled it away quickly.

"Leave! Please, Potter… leave! I'm fine!"

"What the hell happened? You're going to bleed to death, you git!" _I need a place where I can see what the hell is going on with Malfoy, _thought Harry. When the Room of Requirement appeared, Harry dragged Draco in, slamming the door behind them. Bright light illuminated the room, which was empty, save for some gauze and other Muggle-like medical materials.

Harry made a grab for his arm again, but was foiled by a quick dodge. "You idiot! If you don't let me see that soon, you're going to – '' He stopped, narrowing his eyes in suspicion when he realized that something was definitely amiss with Draco.

Draco smirked lightly. "Cat got your tongue, Potter?" he said weakly.

He yelped, however, when Harry grabbed his arm and yanked up the sleeve.

He gasped when his eyes made contact with the writhing Mark on Draco's arm and the blood seeping out of several deep cuts surrounding it. His shock quickly turned to anger, however, and he whipped out his wand.

"You fucking Death Eater!" Harry shouted. "I knew that you couldn't be trusted!"

Draco was backed against a wall, panting. "Please, let me explain. I know it looks – "

"It looks like a fucking Dark Mark, that's what it looks like!" Harry gritted his teeth, angry that he had been foolish enough to trust his enemy. "_Cru_ –"

"NO!" Draco screamed. "No! Please! No!" He didn't realize that he hadn't stopped screaming until Harry was shaking his shoulders violently.

"Malfoy! _Draco_! Stop!"

Draco's terrified screaming came to a halt, and then he was silent and still.

Confused, Harry backed up.

"I didn't want it," Draco whimpered, "b-but… they… she…"

"I don't know what the fuck is going on, Malfoy, but I will find out." Concentrating, and trying to calm himself down, Harry pointed his wand at Malfoy's head. "_Legilimens!_" Using Legilimency, Harry began to see the events of the past two days fly by in Draco's mind.

Draco attempted to sever the connection using Occlumency, but was far too weak to be focussed on keeping invaders out.

What Harry saw left him feeling both mentally and physically sick. He dropped his wand as soon as he saw Draco receiving the Dark Mark.

"Your family is disgusting," Harry panted, horrified by what he had just witnessed. He grabbed the gauze and would it as tight as he could around Draco's arm. "I'm sorry… I don't know how to heal it… but I'm sure Hermione does." Harry left Draco to go get her.

By the time Hermione reached the Room of Requirement, Draco was huddled in a corner, shivering. She ran to him and knelt, noticing that his pale skin had managed to become whiter.

Pointing her wand at the wound, she said a series of incantations that closed up the broken skin and stopped the bleeding. She wrapped her arms around him and he buried his head in her shoulder, much like he had done two weeks before.

"It's okay," she said, trying to be comforting. "I'll help you… I wasn't expecting this to happen so soon."

"Draco…" Harry said, using that name for the first time ever, "I'm sorry. I should have let you explain."

Hermione shook her head. "Really, Harry! The Cruciatus Curse! What were you thinking?"

"I thought that I was going to have to force information out of him, alright?"

"Yeah… okay." Hermione stroked his cheek. She didn't want to ask him any questions – not yet, anyway – but there was one thing that they had to get around. "What now?"

Harry ran a hand through his raven hair. "I… I don't know. This is _Malfoy_, Hermione. If we're seen with him inside the school at any point in time, people will become incredibly suspicious, especially those that are associated with Death Eaters. I swear, half of the students in the Slytherin house are. And if they notice Draco straying from that, they'll be sure to alert his parents or worse, Voldemort, and he's done for."

Draco lifted his head. "What's done is done. This Mark won't disappear until the Dark Lord is defeated. I… there's no way around it."

Harry saw the desperation in his eyes. "Draco, until we have to fight Voldemort, you're going to have to pretend to be a Death Eater. That's the only solution that will keep all of us safe for right now."

Hermione sighed softly, and then nodded. "You're right, Harry. That's the only possible solution."

Draco nodded, slightly dazed.

Harry watched the two of them for a moment, then said, "I'll leave you two alone." And he left.

Hermione regarded Draco. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you… I said that I wouldn't let this happen." The ugly Mark on his skin did no justice to him at all.

"It's not your fault," Draco whispered, his eyes heavy. He smiled bitterly. "I'm only broken."

"Draco…" Hermione said, and then she kissed him gently. He returned it with the same gentleness and they broke away. She blushed.

He saw that she looked scared, so he squeezed her hand tightly. Still grasping it, he stood up and pulled her to her feet. "I have to go."

She nodded. "Me too."

Draco pulled Hermione against him tightly in a crushing embrace, feeling something that he didn't know that he was capable of feeling – passion.

"Promise me," Hermione said softly, "that you won't become like one of them. Stand by your morals."

"I tried that once, and look what happened," Draco said, voice thick as he remembered his encounter with Bellatrix.

"You can do it, Draco. Show some inner strength." And, kissing his cheek, she turned away from him and walked out. Her heart was heavy. He had been through so much, and she couldn't help him. It was all up to him.

Draco slumped against the wall, still too tired to make the journey back to the common room. He looked at the Mark on his arm and fought the bile that rose in his throat. He would fix this. He had to, if he ever wanted to truly live again. How hard could it be to pretend to be a Death Eater?

He was confident that Lord Voldemort would fall… he just didn't know when.

And that's what terrified him. How long would he have to pretend?

Heart hammering against his chest, he rested his head on his knees. "I hope you're right, Hermione." Thinking of her, for some reason, made his knees weak. Was it because she was the first person who showed him tenderness? He didn't know.

What he did know, however, is that the feelings would have to stop if he wanted to be a Death Eater. He felt royally fucked up in the head, like he didn't know right from left anymore.

He sighed softly, and let a fitful sleep claim him. "I promise, Hermione."

It wasn't until a few days later, when he attended his first Death Eater meeting, that he sure he could keep that promise.

_After word_: Thanks for reading! Please take the time to leave a review and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is always welcome. : ) Though this fic did not thoroughly involve Draco & Hermione, and instead focussed on Draco's internal struggles, the final installment will, so keep yours eyes peeled! Also, the rating will go up to M for the final installment. Thanks, and peace: )


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